Cold Case Colton

“And even if you were adopted, we don’t know Livia’s reasons for it. Annalise is dead, so you weren’t simply taken from her if she is your mother. Her body was identified when it was delivered to the county morgue in Houston.”

“What was her cause of death?”

“She was never autopsied. And her body was cremated before the Krupids could claim her. But the coroner had photos and the proper proof. She did die.”

“So who rushed through the paperwork? Why wouldn’t the next of kin have been given her body?”

“One more mystery that kept the family certain something else had happened to their daughter.”

“And likely at the hands of one more public official my moth—” she stopped, amended “—Livia paid off.”

Claudia did some quick math. She was twenty-six and Livia wouldn’t have been much older than her at the time of Annalise’s death. Her mother’s crimes had begun at a shockingly tender age, along with her early marriages, the births of her children and her endless string of affairs.

Had love been a part of any of it? She wanted to think better of her mother, but Claudia doubted it. Livia’s string of romances had been about manipulation and greed and money.

The capture of her uncle Matthew had made huge news in Texas after he’d been caught as one of the state’s most notorious serial killers. And even with all he’d done, he’d counted his sister among one of the few people he’d never cross.

What did that say about all her mother was capable of?

“So what comes next?”

“Until your mother escaped from jail, the first step would have been a conversation with her. Since that avenue’s closed to us we need to see what we can find out from others.”

“She wouldn’t tell the truth, even if she was still in jail.”

That fact stung, but Claudia knew it all the same. Matthew had played similar games with his children throughout the long years he’d spent in prison, the withholding of information one more source of power.

Or believed power.

No, Livia would never voluntarily reveal her choices or what she might have done to influence the course of Claudia’s life.

“You believe that?”

“I know it. She can’t be persuaded or cajoled. And there is simply no reasoning with her. If I’m going to get the truth, I’m responsible for finding it.”

“Then a DNA test is the next step.”

“But Annalise is dead. How could we do that?”

“Her parents have mementos. And a small keepsake of her hair from when she was a baby. We have what we need to do the test. But DNA technology is also sophisticated enough to test off the grandparents, as well.”

“Then I guess that’s the next step. I want to know the truth, Hawk. I want answers.”

“Then you can count on me to help you find them.”

Midday sun streamed in through the bedroom window, backlighting him with a golden glow. The attraction she’d done her level best to ignore rose up, heightened by their close proximity and the headiness of the moment.

They’d only just met, yet the power of all they’d shared had such weight. Such tremendous heft.

It was her life. And the lives of several others that had stayed in some sort of imbalanced stasis for far too long.

And this man was finally the one who had the power to shatter that immobility.

Drawn in by the firm lines of his jaw and the stiff set of those broad shoulders, she wanted to reach out and touch him. Wanted to pull him close and lose herself for a few glorious moments in time.

How could someone who’d thrown her life into such turmoil seem so appealing? And so very, very right?

* * *

Breath suspended, Hawk stared into warm gray eyes that promised a host of things, from welcome to surrender, to the one emotion that scared him the most.

Redemption.

He didn’t deserve it and never would. He’d once been fortunate enough to have the total trust of another person. More, he’d had the total trust of a woman who believed he’d protect her. Always.

Only he’d failed.

He’d failed to keep her safe. He’d failed as a police officer tasked to keep his community safe. And he’d failed in all the time since, unable to bring Jennifer’s killer to justice.

He had no right seeking redemption or anything else in the eyes—or arms—of Claudia Colton.

More, he had no right taking advantage of her as he did his job.

Standing, he moved away from the bed and the temptation that filled him at their nearness. “I can make the calls about the DNA test. There’s a facility about a half hour from here I’ve used before. All I need is a cheek swab and your permission.”

Confusion replaced the warmth he’d seen in her eyes before they rapidly shuttered, closing off any hint of emotion. “I’ll go with you.”

“You don’t need to. You don’t need to be involved in this.”

“But I am involved.”

Hawk struggled to come up with something—anything—to push some distance back between them. “No, you’re not. Not unless the test comes back conclusively.”